A few weeks ago we received a booking from Tomasz and Tadeusz, who were looking to spend nine days with us here in search of some reliable sunshine and warmth and an escape from what has not been a very reliable summer in Poland. They were to be our first guests from Poland, so of course we were delighted that we could accommodate them for the time they wanted. Their arrival was delayed by a few hours due to problems with their flight from Krakow, so they only reached us in the small hours of the morning, but they were very glad to find us with no problems even in the dark.
It was a lovely surprise for them, therefore, when they woke up the next morning to find themselves in such beautiful surroundings with the La Safor mountains almost in the front garden and the swimming pool beckoning to be tried out! Having had such a late arrival they were very glad to be able simply to relax and take it easy for the first day and to get used to their new surroundings, so after a leisurely breakfast, that is exactly what they did. They soon felt very much at home, and wanted to know all about the area and where they could go for lunch and dinner on different days, as well as taking day trips to some of the surrounding towns and villages.
They were most impressed with the blue flag awarded beach at Playa de Gandia, and went for lunch to the Club Nautico there on more than one occasion, as well as exploring towns such as Xativa with its imposing castle and the monastery at nearby Simat. This was by no means the first time they had visited Spain though, having spent time in Andalusia, the Basque Country and Cataluña, but they had not been to the region of Valencia before. They therefore took the opportunity to go to Valencia city on a couple of occasions, once specifically to visit the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias) where they wanted to spend time at the Oceanografic – the largest aquarium in Europe. They returned to Valencia later during their stay in order to acquaint themselves with the rest of the city and especially the historic centre, which they found to be a delightful place to visit and tour around.
The rest of their time with us was spent largely relaxing in the gardens and swimming pool and often going to nearby beaches in the earlier part of the day. They also took advantage of our evening meal service on more than one occasion, and joined us and the other guests for a barbecue one night as well. They had a thoroughly enjoyable time with us and managed to fit a lot in to their holiday whilst at the same time relaxing and making the most of the really beautiful weather that lasted for the whole of their visit. The nine days seemed to go past very fast indeed, and all too soon it was time for them to leave and return to Poland, but they assured us they would return to us if they ever visited the Costa Blanca again. It was a pleasure to have them stay with us in our Bed and Breakfast, and we look forward very much to the time when they return.
